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Abstract

Afrikaans

The development of gender understanding was studied in 7 1/2-year-old male and female Indian children. The experimental procedure involved the investigation of: (i) the saliency of genital cues, by means of a free classification procedure, (ii) gender understanding, by means of a questionnaire and (iii) its relationship to cognitive development, by testing the conservation of number and substance.

The major result was that children could correctly label themselves but had not yet attained the concept of gender constancy. This made it difficult to establish a relationship to cognitive development. Further genital cues by themselves have no specific significance for the children. These and other findings were discussed in terms of their particular practical relevance.

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The Development of Gender Understanding in Children

Abstract

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References